St Chad's Church, Stafford
| Church of St Chad, Stafford | |
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| 52°48.3237′N 2°7.0287′W / 52.8053950°N 2.1171450°WCoordinates: 52°48.3237′N 2°7.0287′W / 52.8053950°N 2.1171450°W | |
| OS grid reference | SJ 922 231 |
| Location | Stafford |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Denomination | Church of England |
| Website | http://www.stchadsstafford.co.uk/ |
| History | |
| Dedication | Saint Chad |
| Architecture | |
| Heritage designation | Grade II* |
| Designated | 16 Jan 1951 |
| Style | Norman architecture |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Lichfield |
St Chad's Church, on Greengate Street in the centre of Stafford, is a Grade II* listed Anglican church. Saint Chad, who died in 672, was the first Bishop of Lichfield. The church was built in the 12th century, and is the oldest building in Stafford.
The church was neglected in the 17th and 18th centuries, and much of the Norman architecture was obscured; there was much restoration work in the mid 19th century, particularly by George Gilbert Scott.
The building is cruciform and has a crossing tower.
There is an inscription in Latin on the impost at the north-east corner of the crossing: ORM VOCATUR QUI ME CONDIDIT ("He who built me is called Orm"). It is thought that "Orm" is Orm le Guidon, an important landowner in the 11th to 12th century.
The nave is bordered by massive stone columns which have scallop capitals. The columns support four-bay arcades which have chevron decorations on the two eastern arches of each arcade. The crossing arch, at the eastern end of the nave, has chevron decorations, and "beak-heads" on the columns. All these are features of the original Norman building.
There are intersecting arches on either side of the chancel; these are original features uncovered during the 1850s restoration. The two windows in the north wall of the chancel have interiors which are the only original window features in the building.
The tower was rebuilt in the 14th century; after this the church became neglected. In the 17th century the original aisles were destroyed, the arcades were bricked up, and the transepts were removed.
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